Glass packaging demand set to make way for cheaper plastics

The global glass packaging market will reach a value of $36.8bn in 2013, but its growth will be limited in the next 10 years as it loses out to competition from plastics.


A report from British research firm Visiongain suggests that emerging economies will require more glass packaging for more premium food, beverage, healthcare and personal care products.

However, the analysis also indicates that growth will be curtailed as pressure mounts on producers to look to alternative packaging materials in order to cut down production costs.

Visiongain claims that the change from glass to more flexible plastic packaging such as PET, will be most dramatically noticeable in the beverage industry.

It claims that during the next ten years the landscape of the packaging industry will change and glass will take a step back as plastics moves forward.

Despite this, Visiongain is confident that glass will not completely fly off the radar, claiming it will solidify its image as a luxury item, providing products with an image of sophistication and value.

Visiongain’s author of the report Sree Selvan said:

“This loss in the glass packaging market share will only affect the lower tier products that glass currently packages and will act to enforce glass as the packaging material of choice for any product wishing to portray an image of luxury or natural qualities.

“Luxury products are currently being soaked up by the East Asian and South American markets and this is where the majority of demand for glass packaging comes from. This will continue to be the case until Europe and America Recover towards the end of the decade’.

Conor McGlone

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